Tales of Chiron's Coffee
by CatatonicVanity
Summary: The first time Jason goes to Chiron's Coffee, it's because he needs what Leo calls 'make a trucker cry' coffee. When he goes back, it's because of the boy that made the coffee.


The first time Jason ever went to Chiron's Coffee, it was because his midterms were a half hour away and he hadn't slept in two days. His friend Leo also told him on good authority that the coffee there was so strong that it would wake his ass up for another whole day.

Leo hadn't been wrong. The stuff had been so thick and strong that Jason had almost spit it back out. But it had kept him awake through his midterms and he'd gotten a B plus.

What had kept him buzzing the whole day hadn't been the coffee, though. No, it had been the boy who had made the coffee.

The boy had dark, curly hair and deep, obsidian eyes that seemed to cut through Jason's soul. He was a few inches shorter than Jason and thin, almost wiry. His skin was a pale olive that made his red, plump lips that much more stark.

His name was Nico. Every part of him was beautiful.

Jason was enamored from the first moment. From the first second Nico had given him a shy, tired smile and asked him what he'd like.

That had been six months ago, and ever since, Jason had gone to the same coffee shop and ordered the same horrible coffee at least three times a week. He liked taking his laptop and studying while watching Nico bustle around and a few times, Nico sat with him and they talked.

Nico was animated. He used his hands and when he got excited, he started exclaiming in Italian. He was a geek and liked playing old platform video games, but Jason never got to play with him. Their relationship stayed in the coffee shop, never out of it, and that fact was slowly but surely depressing Jason.

…

It was a pretty average Thursday and Jason was sitting in the coffee shop, the horrible coffee going cold beside him while he drew a blank on his paper. He was sure he'd been sitting there, staring blankly at his computer screen for a good five minutes before he heard the chair across from his scrape against the floor.

He looked up, hoping to see Nico smiling shyly at him and asking if he could sit down, only to see one Percy Jackson sitting there, staring intently at him.

Jason sort of knew Percy. His best friend, Piper, was good friends with Annabeth, Percy's girlfriend. He and the swimmer had been stuck outside the dressing room before, awkwardly exchanging polite banter until they were free to go, but it never really went past that. He knew Percy worked at the coffee shop as well, but he didn't know why the dark haired boy was sitting across from him, staring at him with such burning intensity.

"Uh… Hey," Jason said awkwardly. He pushed his laptop aside, resigning himself to the fact that he wasn't going to finish his paper today. He shifted his eyes to the counter, hoping to get a glimpse of Nico.

"Nico's gone. He's been gone for thirty minutes," Percy informed him. Jason's head whipped around and a blush crawled up his cheeks.

"I wasn't…" he stammered before Percy raised a brow, stopping him with an incredulous look.

"Dude, you've been coming in here and pining over him for the last six months. Cut the shit."

Jason ducked his head and tried to fight the blush making his cheeks flame. Had he really been that obvious? Oh man, did Nico know?

"I come for the coffee," he protested weakly. Percy's frown deepened and he fixed Jason with a look that clearly screamed 'bullshit'.

"No you don't, the coffee is shit. If you had said the pastries, I might believe you."

Jason sighed, defeated, and leaned back in his seat, waiting for Percy to make his point. The green-eyed boy leaned back as well, tapping his fingers against the table with nervous energy.

"Nico's pretty great, isn't he?" he finally said flippantly. "He's really smart, and unbelievably kind once he opens up. Kind of geeky, but it's cute too, isn't it?" Percy asked with a fond smile. Jason blinked slowly, unsure of where this was going. "I've known that kid since he was ten. Been with him through a lot of stuff. I was in the car accident that killed his sister, Bianca."

"Why are you telling me this?" Jason asked suddenly, feeling very jealous all at once. Yes, Nico had told him about his two sisters, Hazel and Bianca. He knew that Bianca had died when Nico was very young, but it felt very personal, him knowing about it. Something about Percy mentioning it made him angry.

"Because, I'm tired of watching you pine over him and him pine over you while neither of you idiots do anything about it. He likes you, man. And I know you like him."

Jason leaned back a bit more, blushing again. He swore his fingers or toes were going to fall off from lack of circulation one of these days, considering how much blood rushed to his face and… other parts of him.

"He… likes me?" he asked softly, as though the words would break if he spoke them too loudly. Percy grinned.

"Yeah, dude. He likes you a lot. But you see, the thing about that kid is, he's got no self esteem. It's wrecked. So he's got this weird thing in his head about how someone like you couldn't like someone like him and all that shit. It's starting to piss me off, to be honest. So, here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna go and ask him out, like you should have six months ago, and you're gonna treat him like he's the most precious thing in the world to you. And you're gonna make him happy, and stop coming in here and getting this shitty coffee for an excuse to stare at him. Got it?" Through his rant, Percy's voice had gotten lower and lower, dropping to a dead serious tone he'd never heard from him before, until the black haired boy was staring at him with the same burning eyes and thin lips as before.

"I… yeah. Okay. I'll do that," Jason said dumbly, trying to still his heart and keep it from busting through his chest. Percy nodded, the grim look never leaving his face.

"And one more thing," he said, leaning forward. "If you hurt him in any way, physical or emotional, I will put you six feet under. I will end you, but not before making you wish you'd never crossed me. You got that, Grace?"

Jason swallowed, nodding quickly. Percy could be downright scary if he was trying hard enough, and Jason had no doubt he meant every word. Percy's eyes lightened up and he smiled that big, stupid smile again, as though he hadn't just threatened to kill Jason. He stood, looking at his watch absently and grabbing the coffee that Jason wasn't going to drink anyway.

"I have to get back to work. Nico comes in tomorrow at eight in the morning. Grow a pair and ask him out, yeah? And get out of my coffee shop."


End file.
